I Promise
by Killjoyncis
Summary: Abby has something to tell Gibbs. Something about Tony. Takes place after Blackwater and could be seen as a part two to my story "Fixation".


"You seem pretty concerned about Kate, Gibbs."

Gibbs paused at the door of Abby's lab. Kate, who had gotten on the elevator, quirked an eyebrow at him and he shook his head, motioning her to go ahead. Abby's tone was all wrong. Abby was not a critic. She was not judgmental nor moody. Negativity and the forensic scientist were not on a first name basis. Yet as unfamiliar as it sounded coming from her smoky voice, Gibbs identified the censure. But what was it about?

"She's never really done the undercover thing. She seemed to like McAllister. Is it wrong that I want to look out for my agents?" He could feel the anger color his tone. He didn't like to explain himself to anyone, even the replacement for a daughter that died far too young.

"Nope. Not wrong at all. It is wrong, though, if you only look out for some of them." Again with the tight, almost enraged tone. What the hell did he do to piss her off so badly?

"You wanna tell me what the hell you're getting at? You jealous of Kate, Abby? Because that's not like you." Could it be that simple? He didn't think so, but he was flying blind here.

"Oh please Gibbs. She's a friend. I have nothing against her. But she used to protect the President. She's a big girl and can look after herself. Why so concerned? It was a dinner. Not like she was chained to a serial killer with no backup for days at a time. Not like she was ever afraid for her life or even in any real danger during the operation. Yet you are so sympathetic because she liked McAllister." Abby stalked toward him. Her jade eyes practically snapped with anger, and he realized with a start that she was not very much shorter than him in her knee-high boots. It was easy to disregard her height normally because she was not imposing. But today, she was not afraid to intimidate, which only meant one thing: she was going to bat for her best friend.

"So this is about Tony? What gives, Abs? Tony was undercover. Shit went down the way it normally does with Tony…meaning everything went to hell in a hand basket. He looked after himself. It was a dangerous op, but he's the best for a reason. He's fine. Isn't he?"

"You tell me, Gibbs. Does he seem fine to you?"

He could feel himself scowling as he tried to think. "Tony's always fine."

"Really? Always? So when he falls asleep in my lab and wakes up screaming, that is your definition of fine?" Now she was mocking him. Her arms folded tightly across her chest, her head cocked to the side. Aggressive.

"I imagine going undercover the way he did would cause some negative reactions. Nightmares are to be expected. I gave him the name of a good shrink and told him to go see her. He's a big boy." He heard the defensive tone in his voice and winced.

"Completely to be expected." She nodded. "Except the screaming nightmares? Came before the undercover op. Now? He doesn't sleep at all. Not here and not at home. I checked the tapes from your bullpen. He's here all the time."

"Why would he wake up screaming before the Jeffrey White case?" Gibbs tipped his head and gave it some thought. Almost forgotten, the image of Tony flinching away from a head slap after the Cuba trip. He had been so determined to figure that out. He knew very little about Tony. Why did he know so little? He thought about it for a moment, then grinned a little. Tony was the court jester. He was so good at the role. He played the part, always funny, always smiling. Always deflecting. Gibbs had been played by a master. He nodded. "OK Abs. I will see what I can dig up."

He'd expected easy capitulation and was mildly alarmed to see her face crumple a little. "Gibbs, I've kept something from you. A secret."

"Is it about Tony?" His gut gave an uncomfortable lurch. He knew that someone who hid his past as thoroughly and skillfully as Tony probably had a pretty ugly story to tell.

Now that she'd seemingly made a decision to tell him whatever it was she knew, Abby launched into lecture mode. She walked over to the computer in front of her plasma screen and said, "What do you know about Jeffrey White's victims in Seattle?"

"Not much," Gibbs admitted, feeling like he'd failed her somehow. He never really let cases go as easily as he let the White one slide. By the time they found Tony, Jeffrey White was dead, and he'd chalked it up to justice and closed the file. "Just that he slit their throats."

"Jeffrey White was a traditional psychopathic personality in a lot of ways. Socially inept, abused as a child, tended to idolize people out of his reach and fixate on the unattainable. The person in Seattle that he fixated on was Donovan Scofield." She pulled up a picture of White, bland and unassuming and another one of a man Gibbs had never seen before that. Despite that, he looked familiar. Staring at the face, Gibbs let Abby keep talking. "Scofield owned a bookstore in one of the more trendy Seattle neighborhoods. He didn't need the money; he'd come from a family with almost unlimited funds. He liked to putter around his shop and stock limited editions of books that collectors really coveted. Jeffrey White stumbled into his store while searching for an autographed copy of _American Psycho _by Bret Easton Ellis. Great book, by the way. Creepy because y'know, it takes a hell of a writer to make the protagonist a serial killer and then on top of that, to make him likable? Tough job."

"Can we get wherever you are going sometime soon, Abs?" He tried to keep his tone polite, but it was difficult.

"OK. Anyway, Scofield and White hit it off. They became friends and Scofield included White in some get-togethers with his associates. White began to write in his journal about Scofield. He fancied himself in love with the man and saw his friends…his male ones anyway…as interfering with their 'relationship'. One by one, he picked off Scofield's three closest friends. Killed them all: David Berdan, Chad Michaels, and Robert Mansfield." The smiling faces of the three men appeared as Abby said their names. "Then, Donovan Scofield went missing. He was never found. His family offered a huge reward, but it is as though Donovan has ceased to exist."

"So, what? Did Jeffrey White kill Donovan Scofield?" Gibbs' curiosity was piqued.

"Dunno." Abby shrugged. "It's a cold case at this point."

"All of this is really interesting, Abby. But where are you going with this? What's the point?"

"Scofield remind you of anyone?" She kept his picture up and got rid of the rest. "Look close and think of our conversation before we got to Jeffrey White."

"Holy shit." Gibbs voice was low. "He could be Tony's twin."

"Yep."

"So what does this mean? Are you telling me Jeffrey White fixated on Tony?"

Abby nodded.

"So why did White need to kill Lane Danielson at the cabin? What went down there that caused White's fixation to manifest into murder?" Gibbs rubbed his hands over his arms, chilled for some reason.

"What do you think happened? C'mon Gibbs," Abby urged. "Pretend as though you don't know any of them. Walk me through the most likely scenario."

"White saw Danielson interact with Dinozzo. He saw him as a threat to their friendship." That word felt wrong. He tried again. "Their connection. So he killed him. That way he didn't have to share the money or Dinozzo."

"And then what?" Abby's voice was soft now. Tentative.

"What do you mean? And then Dinozzo and White left the cabin the next morning."

"Gibbs." Despite the reprimand, she hugged him, resting her head on his shoulder. "What happened between the murder of Lane Danielson and the morning, when Jeffrey White and Tony left the cabin?"

He took a deep breath in, staggered by her implication. It was wrong. It was repulsive. The worst that could happen to a man. And Tony wouldn't stand for it. He wouldn't just let himself be-but wait. He was undercover. He couldn't ask Gibbs' advice. He couldn't call for backup. He was entirely alone. And in order to maintain his cover, it was completely believable that Tony Dinozzo had submitted to sexual assault. The fact that his life would have been on the line if he hadn't given in was most likely not the reason for his surrender. It was the job. No matter how many times Gibbs told him otherwise, Tony identified his success and failure as a man with his successes and failures at work.

"He never said anything to me about this." His voice was shaking as he fought for control. "Why wouldn't he come to me?"

"Really? You have to ask? Tony idolizes you. He looks up to you more than anyone else in his life. You are his role model, his boss, and the only real father figure he ever had. He never says much about his family, but it's pretty obvious that his parents were either not around or flat out abusive. He would never confess such a shameful secret to the one person he wants in his corner no matter what."

Impossibly, Gibbs felt a stinging prickle in his eyes. He wanted to deny it all. He was no one's father, not anymore. He'd lost that privilege years ago. And yet, how else would he describe his relationship with Abby? With Tony? How could he handle the pressure of that dependence again? Maybe Abby was wrong. Maybe she was looking for an assault that didn't happen. Gibbs knew that wasn't the case, though. Abby didn't look for drama, despite her appearance. And Tony's own behavior…more skittish on this case with the wealthy family, more sophomoric with Kate about her "crush" on McAllister. The almost manic look in his eyes whenever there was downtime. Gibbs had suggested that Tony see Ducky after the undercover op and the other man had done so, but only had reported the injury to his neck.

"How did you find out? Did he tell you? Did he talk about it?" he demanded angrily. "Did he get checked out by a doctor? Tested?" He had to swallow hard against the bile at the last question.

"He was walking away from me and I saw a mark on the back of his neck. A very specific looking mark. Obviously made by someone's mouth." Abby sounded as though she wanted to vomit as well.

"Oh God." He shuddered, horrible supposition made fact by a single, almost innocent mark. Innocent except for the location. "We have to talk to him. Make him get counseling. Get help."

"NO Gibbs! You can't! He'll leave. He told me if I told anyone he'd leave. If he knew that I told you, he'd disappear. When I said I wanted to tell you and that he wouldn't really leave, he told me to look into why he left Peoria and I did. He left because his partner found out something about his past and went to the captain with it. Before the captain could investigate, Tony resigned. Went to Baltimore."

"What did his partner find out?" Jesus, what else had the kid gone through? Why did the powers of the universe find it so fun to put this man through pain and torment?

"He wouldn't tell me anything. Refused to talk to me after I told him what I wanted. But we can't lose him Gibbs. We can't. I told you because I couldn't hold it in anymore. If we confront him, he'll run. We just need to watch out for him. Now that you know, you can watch him and we'll do what we can to help him. We just have to be stealthy."

Despite himself, Gibbs felt his lips tug upward into a smile. "OK Abs. It will be out secret mission."

She smiled at him finally, seeming not to notice the tears dripping down her face, taking a great deal of her mascara with them. "Promise? First priority, no matter what?"

"Promise. We'll fix this."


End file.
